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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. band — a ring
  3. row — a line
  4. content — happy
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. prune — to trim
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. craft — boats
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. row — to paddle
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. band — a music group
  22. content — the amount
  23. craft — a skill
  24. prune — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com